41. I should like to tender to you, Mr. President, the sincere congratulations of the delegation of the People's Republic of Albania on the occasion of your unanimous election to the office of President of this session of the General Assembly.
42. The Albanian delegation also takes this opportunity, on behalf of the people of Albania and its Government, to hail the birth of a new independent State, Guyana. In welcoming Guyana to our Organization, we express to the people of Guyana our most sincere wishes for success in their struggle to eliminate all the after-effects of colonialism, to strengthen their independence and sovereignty and to create a happy and prosperous life.
43. The world is at present passing through a period of the greatest historical significance. The revolutionary movement of peoples for national liberation and social emancipation, which has brought about great changes in the map of the world and in the political and social structure of many countries, is spreading and is being constantly strengthened. The struggle against imperialism and colonialism has gathered unprecedented momentum and is accelerating the process of their downfall. Socialism and the national liberation movement have today become two decisive driving forces in the development of human society; they have awakened the conscience of peoples and have made them more determined than ever to obtain their fundamental rights, to become masters of their destinies and to play their rightful role in international relations.
44. Although events are developing favourably for the cause of the freedom of peoples, a complicated and serious international situation has arisen at the present time and one which is fraught with grave danger to the peace and security of the world. International tension has been heightened by the overtly aggressive activities of imperialism, headed by United States imperialism which, despite the defeats it is suffering, has not given up its dream of world domination. Hemmed in from now onwards by the peoples of the world, threatened on all sides by the rising tide of revolution, and gripped tightly in the implacable vice of insoluble contradictions. United States imperialism is waging a life-and-death struggle. It persists in its feverish intensification of the arms race, in committing open armed aggression, and in bringing into being and extending new theatres of war. It is making every effort to repress by fire and sword the national liberation movements of oppressed peoples; it resorts to blackmail and brandishes atomic weapons; it is assiduously making use of diplomatic ruses of every kind.
45. The United States of America has now become the citadel of the most savage reaction ever known to mankind. It intervenes without scruple in the internal affairs of other countries and it stirs up and supports the most sinister reactionary forces existing in the world today against the freedom, independence and progress of peoples. In Asia, Africa, Latin America and throughout the world, the United States imperialists are practising the policy of positions of strength, the neo-colonialist policy whose aim is the creation, by every means, of a great empire and the fulfilment of what they call the historic missions supposedly "assigned to them by Providence" so that they can have the destiny of mankind under their direction and control. Wherever efforts are made to achieve freedom and national independence against imperialism and colonialism, in whatever part of the world it may be, they are to be found engaged in playing their role of international policeman. This situation is becoming even more serious because of the support given to the United States, directly or indirectly, by another great Power, which is daily drawing closer to United States imperialism and increasing its collaboration with it, to the detriment of the freedom of peoples and of peace, despite its loud proclamations in support of the struggle for the liberation of peoples. This policy is clearly proved by the armed aggression against Viet-Nam, Korea, Laos, Cambodia, the Congo (Leopoldville), Cuba, the Dominican Republic and other peace-loving countries.
46. The United States of America has let loose the most barbarous of wars in Viet-Nam. For about twelve years it has been waging a bloody war with the latest weapons in South Viet-Nam. In the last two years it has extended its aggression to North Viet-Nam which is bombed daily by the piratical United States air force. Its aim is to turn the whole of Viet-Nam into a colony and a bridge-head for its war plans against the People's Republic of China and the other countries in the area, but the heroic people of Viet-Nam have retaliated as the aggressors deserved and have gained a succession of victories over them,
47. In order to escape final defeat, the United States of America is striving, through an "escalation" of the war against North Viet-Nam, to compel the people of Viet-Nam to agree to the dishonest truck of "peace negotiations" in the hope of thus obtaining what it is losing on the field of battle. By their recent bombardments of Hanoi, Haiphong and the demilitarized zone between the North and the South, the United States imperialists have carried their aggression against Viet-Nam to a new and more serious stage.
48. The policy of force and oppression practised by the United States of America has received a severe blow in Viet-Nam, where hundreds of thousands of men in the United States armed forces have been immobilized and decimated. In Viet-Nam the global strategy of United States imperialism is being defeated by. the efforts of the people. Through their heroic fight and brilliant victories the people of Viet-Nam have become a great source of inspiration and they are making an immeasurable contribution to the struggle waged by the peoples of Asia, Africa and Latin America against imperialism, colonialism and neo-colonialism. That is why all freedom-loving peoples and all those countries which are fighting for freedom and national independence have made common cause with the brave people of Viet-Nam in their just fight against aggression by the United States and for the salvation of their country. Faced with the alternative of defeating the United States invaders or of submitting to them, the people of Viet-Nam have resolutely chosen the way of victory and they will prevail. It is the duty of peace-loving countries to be vigilant and to resist all the strategies and pressures of the aggressors and their accomplices, whoever the
latter may be and even if they are those pseudo-socialist Governments which shout from the housetops that they are on the side of the people of Viet-Nam and strive hard to make people believe it but which in fact are serving the United States imperialists. In particular, peace-loving countries owe it to themselves not to have any illusions concerning the purposes which the United States Government and its main accomplices are seeking to achieve through the "negotiations" trap. In present circumstances it is the duty of every peace-loving State to call for the unconditional and immediate withdrawal of all United States forces from Viet-Nam, and to support by all possible means the just demands of the Government of the Democratic Republic of Viet-Nam and the National Liberation Front of South Viet-Nam as set out in their four- and five-point declarations.
49. As far as the United Nations is concerned, it is obvious that it has no right to intervene in the question of Viet-Nam. That would be contrary to the legitimate interests and to the rights, freedom and independence of the Viet-Namese people. The Government of the Democratic Republic of Viet-Nam and the National Liberation Front of South Viet-Nam have rejected all attempts by the United Nations to interfere in the question of Viet-Nam. Member States must oppose all such attempts, from whatever side they may come. The Albanian delegation wishes to stress that any such attempt would be useless because it would fail in the face of the iron will of the Viet-Namese people to fight on until victory is finally theirs, and would only be a new blow to the authority of the United Nations, which is already seriously weakened.
50. The Albanian people and Government have placed themselves at the side of the Viet-Namese people and continue to do so; they firmly support their just fight to save their native land. The Government of the People’s Republic of Albania fully supports the just demands of the Government of the Democratic Republic of Viet-Nam and of the National Liberation Front of South Viet-Nam for the cessation of aggression by the United States of America and the unconditional and immediate withdrawal of all its firmed forces from Viet-Nam. That is the only, just way of settling the Viet-Nam problem; there is no other.
51. The United States of America, in collaboration with Japan, is constructing in South Korea a large number of military bases, aerodromes and outposts for war; it has converted South Korea into a bridgehead for aggression against a peaceful and heroic State, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. At the same time, other Governments are engaged in creating conditions favourable to the Japanese militarists and unfavourable to the Korean people.
52. It is well known that for some time past the United States Government has transferred the focal point of its world strategy for war from Europe to Asia. The reason is that the revolutionary liberation movement of the peoples of Asia is expanding very rapidly and has gained important victories over the United States policy of aggression and war. The great socialist country of China, through its revolutionary action and as a result of its exceptionally important international role as a powerful supporter of a just world peace and of the world movement
for national liberation and social emancipation, has become the main obstacle to the achievement of Washington’s plans for the domination of Asia and the world. That is the reason for the intense enmity of United States imperialism towards the People’s Republic of China, its many hostile intrigues against that country and its redoubled efforts to encircle it.
53. Since the conclusion of the Japanese-South Korean Treaty, the United States of America has been endeavouring to create new military alliances, like the South-East Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO), which is directed against the People's Republic of China, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and the peoples of other peace-loving countries. A glance at the military dispositions of the United States in the Far East, its land, naval and air bases in the Pacific, the territories occupied by its forces and converted into colonies and bridge-heads — like South Korea, Taiwan and others — clearly shows that they are all directed mainly against the People’s Republic of China. According to Washington's plans, all this is to be associated with the creation of a "holy alliance” against China, to be placed under its control and to which the great European Powers and the Asian Powers bordering on China are to belong, in order to complete what has been called the iron ring around China.
54. The implementation of the plans for the concentration of the military effort of the United States in the Far East is also related to the changes which have taken place in recent years in the political and ideological attitude of the leaders of a great European Power, changes which have led to policies of compromise and collaboration with the most aggressive imperialist Power and to new and dangerous deals between great Powers actuated by interests running counter to those of the freedom and independence of peoples and world peace. The transfer of the centre of gravity of United States strategy to Asia has been actively assisted by the leaders of that great European Power. It is common knowledge that, thanks to that assistance, some of the United States troops sent to Asia had been withdrawn from Europe. These leaders are at present following a standstill policy in Europe, so as to enable the United States of America to concentrate its forces on the war against the peoples of Asia. They claim that tension has now eased in Europe, and that there is a situation favourable to a pan-European meeting for the strengthening of peace in that area. It is impossible to speak of a satisfactory situation in Europe when the main post-war problems have not been solved; when the peace treaty with Germany has not been signed; when the United States of America, which has not abandoned its hostile designs against the socialist countries, has established its forces in the very heart of Europe; when it has set up a series of military bases in various European countries; when its Sixth Fleet is in the Mediterranean; when it is supporting by all possible means the revanchist regime in West Germany; when it has revived the German Wehrmacht and is seeking to provide it with nuclear weapons through the so-called "multilateral" force. How is it possible to speak of conditions favourable to an agreement with NATO when the leader of that military bloc is the United States of America, the most aggressive imperialist Power, which is carrying out a policy of positions of strength and aggression, which has attacked freedom-loving peoples in the four corners of the world, and which is feverishly making preparations for a third world war? Such affirmations can deceive only the simple-minded. It is obvious that what we are dealing with here is a conspiracy with the United States imperialists against the peoples of the socialist and other freedom-loving countries and against universal peace. Peace is one and indivisible. That is a principle borne out by history and generally accepted by progressive people everywhere. There can be no true peace in Europe so long as war and aggression continue in Asia and in_ other parts of the world.
55. It is surely obvious, as a matter of elementary logic, that aggression by the United States in Viet-Nam and the war against the People's Republic of China and other peace-loving countries, for which the ruling circles in the United States are preparing, are closely and indissolubly linked, from all points of view, with the future of world peace; that they directly affect the great cause of freedom and independence of peoples and directly and inevitably jeopardize it. It follows that the solidarity of all freedom- and peace-loving peoples and countries is not just a matter of sentiment; it is in keeping with the objective laws of the process of development of human society and today more than ever it is an indispensable and compelling need.
56. The result of the ever more vigorous fight of the revolutionary liberation movement and of its brilliant victories has been to weaken the imperialist and colonialist Powers, to aggravate their rivalries and the competition between them and to introduce deep divisions among the western military blocs. The peoples note with satisfaction that within the western Powers there are instances of manifest opposition to the imperialist yoke of the United States which weighs even upon its former allies.
57. Although the international situation is today developing favourably for the cause of peoples that does not of course mean that the road which leads to the triumph of that cause Will be smooth and free from obstacles. The victories of peoples are achieved by unceasing struggle and by sacrifice. It is a struggle which has its vicissitudes, its successes and reverses, but its final outcome is sure and irresistible progress towards victory. Whatever intrigues the imperialists resort to and notwithstanding all their desperate efforts, they are quite unable to alter the course of history; on the contrary, their aggressive actions cannot but give further impetus to the headlong struggle for liberation of the peoples of the world.
58. It is necessary to stress the fact that, precisely because of the present international situation, the vigilance of the peace-loving countries is of special importance. It is incumbent on the States Members of the United Nations which have the cause of peace and freedom at heart, to denounce forcefully all Intrigues against that cause, whoever may be responsible for them and whatever the demagogic subterfuge with which they seek to disguise them.
59. The People's Republic of Albania has been and will always be in favour of security and the strengthening of peace in Europe. But, as in the past, it will never dissociate the guaranteeing of European security from international peace and security and from true world peace.
60. The disarmament problem has been among the foremost preoccupations of peace-loving peoples and States. Despite the interminable discussions which have been going on for more than twenty years within the United Nations, no progress has yet been made towards the settlement of this problem. The work done this year by the Committee of Seventeen at Geneva has likewise yielded no results, as most of the countries members of that Committee recognize.
61. While the Committee of Seventeen continues its endless academic debates on disarmament at Geneva, the United States of America is unceasingly intensifying the frenzied arms race and the result is that, according to its official figures, that country now has an annual military budget of approximately $60,000 million; it has a network of thousands of military bases which it has established in various areas of the world; it is making every effort to keep in being the military blocs under its control and is endeavouring to create new aggressive blocs.
62. The United States of America is not in favour of disarmament. It is indeed inconceivable that it should renounce the arms race; this is perfectly understandable and in keeping with its political and social system which is fundamentally aggressive. The fact is that, from the beginning of the negotiations on disarmament until now, the great imperialist Powers have increased and are still increasing their stocks of weapons on an inconceivable scale. All the fuss made by the great Powers members of the Committee of Seventeen about disarmament is only a piece of trickery and demagogy designed to cover up, however thinly, their arms race and to leave the small countries unarmed, in order to give themselves a free hand to carry out their schemes against the liberties and sovereignty of peoples and States. It is a well-known fact and it is essential that everyone should be aware of it, that United States imperialism and the other imperialisms which wish to dominate the world base their entire policy and diplomacy on armaments, so that it is a delusion to suppose that they will lay down their weapons and disarm. Member States and above all the small countries must draw the necessary conclusions from this situation; they have every right to take any measures they deem necessary for defence and security, for the defence of their territorial integrity and national sovereignty.
63. It is now obvious to all that the imperialists do not disarm of their own free will: they are forced to do so by the action and the united effort of all freedom-loving peoples and countries to compel them to disarm.
64. The purpose of the negotiations on the nonproliferation of nuclear weapons which are at present taking place between the great Powers — although, to suit their purposes, these negotiations also take place within the Committee of Seventeen — is to concentrate in their hands the monopoly of these weapons for the domination of the world. "The non-proliferation of nuclear weapons” is a trap set against the sovereignty of independent States and places serious limitations on their supreme prerogative of defence; it is patently opposed to the interests of international peace and security.
65. We consider it our duty to appeal to Member States to reconsider their position on this question before signing an agreement which would gravely endanger the principle of the sovereignty and sovereign equality of States — the foundation of international relations; it would open the way still wider to nuclear blackmail and threats and it is a step that would imperil their national security and the cause of peace. We consider it the duty of all peace-loving countries to Join forces in order to bar the way to nuclear blackmail and threats and to prevent the future of international peace and security from being left in the hands of two great Powers.
66. We have been, and we continue to be, in favour of the complete prohibition and destruction of nuclear weapons. The Albanian Government reaffirms its full support for the proposal by the Chinese Government for a summit conference, in which all the countries in the world would participate, to consider the question of the absolute prohibition and total destruction of nuclear weapons.
67. At the direct instigation of two great Powers, the question of setting up a permanent United Nations force has again been placed on the agenda. According to their schemes, this force would be a convenient instrument for repressing the national liberation and revolutionary movements of peoples and for carrying out the aforementioned conspiracies and aggressive plans directed against peace-loving countries. In other words, the role of this force would be complementary to that of international policeman which the United States has taken upon itself. Do not forget the grave consequences that the use of United Nations forces has had for peace and for the inalienable rights of peoples; remember, for instance, how the financial aspect of the question was invoked in order to render futile, through blackmail under Article 19 of the Charter, the whole nineteenth session of the General Assembly. Our attitude towards this question has already been clearly stated and remains unchanged. We are firmly opposed to the setting up of such a force. We shall denounce and vigorously combat any bargaining behind the scenes for the establishment of an international United Nations police force, directed against sovereign States and freedom-loving peoples, whether that force be under the control of one great Power or two great Powers together. We believe that the majority of Member States will adopt the attitude necessary to ensure the failure of plans of this kind.
68. The national liberation movement of peoples has struck crushing blows at the colonial system of imperialism, which is now deeply shaken and falling into decay. The day is not far distant when we shall see the complete collapse of this hateful system which for centuries has caused indescribable unhappiness and suffering to hundreds of millions of human beings. Peoples still languishing under the colonial yoke, the peoples of Southern Arabia, Oman, Angola, Mozambique, so-called Portuguese Guinea, Southern Rhodesia. South West Africa, Puerto Rico, and others, are engaged in a resolute struggle for their liberation, despite repression and organized massacres carried out with the most modern means by the colonial Powers, and despite the solidarity of those Powers, led by the United States of America, which is mainly responsible for the maintenance of this system for the enslavement of mankind. Peoples are today moving forward with assurance towards the goal of freedom and independence and their struggle has the support of all progressive human beings.
69. The Albanian people and its Government firmly and fully support the just struggle of dependent peoples. We have resolutely rejected the pretensions of those who, on the pretext of slogans about peaceful coexistence, have advocated the capitulation of oppressed peoples to the imperialists and colonialists. The struggle of peoples for freedom and independence is a just and sacred struggle. It represents a great contribution to the cause of peace.
70. But the question arises: what has the United Nations done to assist the struggle for national liberation of colonial and dependent peoples and countries? Have the countless resolutions of the United Nations on this subject really contributed to this end or have they rather aroused in peoples vain hopes which weaken their struggle? What has been the outcome of the numerous resolutions concerning the Portuguese colonies, South Africa, Southern Rhodesia, Oman, and others? As everyone knows, these resolutions have been tramped underfoot by the colonial Powers and no effective measures have been taken against them. And that situation will not change so long as the United Nations is directly manipulated by the United States and is used as a place for making deals to sabotage the struggle of peoples for national freedom and independence.
71. Faced with the great progress made by the national liberation movement and the struggle of various States to strengthen their independence and national sovereignty, the neo-colonialist Powers have worked out a whole series of crafty methods and devices, the sole purpose of which is to strengthen their domination. Taking advantage of the economic needs of a number of countries, the imperialists, headed by the United States of America and the pseudo-socialist Governments, with the help of credits entailing debt bondage and other forms of economic penetration, are making every effort to maintain their domination over these countries which are struggling to strengthen their freedom, independence and national sovereignty. These "credits” and this economic ’’aid" have political objectives and they are used as a means of interfering in the internal affairs of other countries and ruthlessly exploiting them.
72. It is the duty of peace-loving States to strengthen their co-operation with one another and to give unhesitating support to the just struggle of peoples for freedom and independence, a struggle which is all-important if the colonialist and imperialist yoke is to be shaken off; they must adopt a firm attitude towards all forms of pressure against their national sovereignty.
73. As a result of the manipulation of the United Nations by the United States, an abnormal situation has been created in the Organization, One of the most flagrant proofs of this manipulation is the denial of the right of the great country of China — one of the founding Members of the Organization and representing about a quarter of the human race — to occupy its lawful place in the United Nations. This action constitutes a flagrant violation of the Charter and has made it impossible for the Organization to enter upon the performance of its tasks and to assume its proper role.
74. For more than seventeen years the seat of China in the United Nations, the seat of the largest State in the world, a founding Member of the Organization and a permanent member of the Security Council, has been usurped by the representatives of a gang of renegades who were driven out by the Chinese people and took refuge in the Chinese island of Taiwan, occupied by the armed forces of the United States of America.
75. This is an intolerable absurdity and one of the most characteristic manifestations of the crass and short-sighted policy of the United States Government and of its odious behaviour towards this Organization. Everyone knows there is only one China in the world, the People's Republic of China, and that its Government and its representatives alone can represent that country in international relations, in the United Nations and in all other international organizations. Without the participation of that powerful socialist country, the People's Republic of China, with its 700 million inhabitants, it is impossible to settle any of the important international problems of our time; without the participation of that great country, the United Nations cannot solve problems such as those on its agenda, nor can it possess the necessary authority and the indispensable confidence and support of the masses throughout the world.
76. It is common knowledge that the Chiang Kai-shek clique represents nothing, no people and no country, and that the seat which it has usurped, absolutely illegally, belongs to the People's Republic of China and to it alone. Yet, as far as the Organization is concerned, this outrageous anomaly, this intolerable absurdity, has been a reality for seventeen years. This grave situation within the United Nations, which cannot fail to affect the dignity of Member States, is one of the manifestations of the deep hostility and aggressive attitude of the United States of America towards the People's Republic of China and the Chinese people.
77. The People's Republic of China is a great socialist country; it is intensely peace-loving and it plays a very important part in safeguarding peace in Asia and in the world. It firmly supports the struggle of peoples for freedom and social progress and it is respected by the whole of progressive mankind. The slanders of the United States imperialists and their lackeys, in particular recent slanders, against the People's Republic of China are designed to distract the attention of world opinion from their policy of aggression and plots against peoples and peace and to sully the peaceful policy of China and the many and varied great achievements of the Chinese people.
78. Albania is one of the sponsors of the request for the inclusion in the agenda of the item relating to the restoration of the lawful rights of the People's Republic of China in the United Nations [A/6391]. We shall have occasion to speak of this question in greater detail when the General Assembly takes up this item. But what we wish to emphasize now is that an end must be put to this situation without further delay if there is a genuine desire to take the first essential step to place the Organization on its feet again. The matter is all the more urgent when we take into account the grave international situation and the great problems of our time that are awaiting solution.
79. It is essential that the United Nations should become a universal organization, in conformity with the Charter, and that can only be achieved by granting to all peoples the legitimate right to be represented in this institution. In this connexion, the Government of the People's Republic of Albania supports the just claim of the German Democratic Republic to become a member of the United Nations.
80. The Government of the People's Republic of Albania, guided by its policy of peace and international co-operation, has tried constantly and in all circumstances to make its modest contribution to the safeguarding and strengthening of world peace. It has been and continues to be in favour of the development of relations with all countries with different social systems, on the basis of the well known principles of peaceful coexistence, equality, noninterference in internal affairs, respect and mutual advantage. We have always supported the efforts of all those States which are devoted to the cause of freedom and independence for peoples, and to the best of our ability we have endeavoured to assist the United Nations to pursue a path which is in accordance with the fundamental Purposes and Principles of the Charter.
81. In the statement made by our delegation in the general debate at the last session of the General Assembly [1344th meeting], when speaking of the urgent measures that the Organization should take to this effect, we stressed as one of the essential conditions the need to reject the influences and manoeuvres of the United States of America within the United Nations, even if the influence is exerted and the manoeuvres are carried out in collaboration with some other great Power. This is an organization of sovereign and equal States, for which any kind of tutelage or diktat is unacceptable, irrespective of the form which it takes. It is obvious that, so long as the harmful influence of the United States over the United Nations continues, the Organization will not be in a position to take the necessary decisions and the appropriate measures for its own reorganization, which is essential in the present state of international affairs, nor will it be able to carry out its essential tasks of promoting peace and of respecting the right of peoples to self-determination, freedom and independence.
82. The Albanian delegation egresses the conviction that, through me concerted and resolute efforts of peace-loving States and of all the peoples of the world and through their co-ordinated action against imperialism and its lackeys, it will be possible to bring to naught all the plans and manoeuvres against the freedom of peoples and the cause of genuine world peace.